pucker

American  

[puhk-er] / ˈpʌk ər /

verb (used with or without object)

• puckers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• puckered,
  past participle,  past
• puckering
  present participle

1. to draw or gather into wrinkles or irregular folds, as material or a part of the face; constrict.

   Worry puckered his brow.

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noun

• puckers
  plural

1. a wrinkle; an irregular fold.

2. a puckered part, as of cloth tightly or crookedly sewn.

3. Archaic. a state of agitation or perturbation.

pucker British  

/ ˈpʌkə /

verb

1. to gather or contract (a soft surface such as the skin of the face) into wrinkles or folds, or (of such a surface) to be so gathered or contracted

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noun

1. a wrinkle, crease, or irregular fold

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• puckerer
  noun
• unpuckered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• puckers
  plural

Participles

• puckering
  present
• puckered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pucker
  simple
• puckers
  simple
• have puckered
  perfect
• has puckered
  perfect
• am puckering
  progressive
• are puckering
  progressive
• is puckering
  progressive
• have been puckering
  perfect progressive
• has been puckering
  perfect progressive

Past

• puckered
  simple
• had puckered
  perfect
• was puckering
  progressive
• were puckering
  progressive
• had been puckering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pucker
  simple
• will have puckered
  perfect
• will be puckering
  progressive
• will have been puckering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of pucker

1590–1600; apparently a frequentative form connected with poke ²; see -er ⁶ and for the meaning cf. purse

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Explanation

Pucker is a verb for what happens when something smooth or flat gets folded up into little wrinkles, like how you pucker your lips when you go to kiss someone — you, wild flirt, you! When you use a sewing machine, sometimes the cloth puckers in wrinkly clumps that make it hard to sew in a straight line. Most of the time, it’s lips that do the puckering, maybe because you want a kiss, but also sucking on a lemon can make your lips pucker. If someone tells you to “pucker up,” they might want to kiss you, or they might throw a sour pickle at your head. Either way, get ready.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pucker puckers puckered puckering

He avoids kissing for 24 hours before a performance and 48 hours before a competition because it makes it difficult to sustain a pucker.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

“They knew how to make a martini that could taste like green apple but didn’t use some synthetic, chemical green apple pucker liqueur,” he says.

From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2025

Mattel should have considered traditional pucker toe moccasins, instead of black shoes, and included symbols on the basket that Cherokees use to tell a story, she said.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 4, 2023

In other words, this complex dance between art, anatomy, and archaeology can bring the past almost to life—one eyelash, pucker, and pore at a time.

From National Geographic ● Oct. 23, 2023

Starry is waiting, arms crossed, a worried pucker on her forehead.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

The building alternately puckers and swells, like the indolent flexing of a muscle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Fattoush is one of the bright, simple joys of summer: Tomatoes spill sunshine, pita shards and cucumbers take turns showing off their snap, sumac puckers, and mint and parsley cool, often, in a single bite.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2022

The crunchy onion gives a little sweetness while the pickle puckers in the most pleasing way to cut through all that heat.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2022

There are friendly masks with big, toothy grins, or red lipstick puckers.

From Washington Post ● May 18, 2020

But now, with most of the rivers cut into pieces and lakes left as grey sludge puckers on the landscape, my own history seemed like a myth along the lines of dragons.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

Some people love the sound of songs blown through puckered lips, or at least appreciate the effort.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

Hashtags such as #sunburntanlines, #sunpoisoning and #sunstroke are popping up alongside videos of young men and women - some in tears - revealing deep red, almost purple, often puckered skin.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2025

Unscrewing the cap on a tube of mauve goo and giving it a generous swipe across puckered lips.

From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2023

Nandina domestica ‘Firepower’ is a compact form of heavenly bamboo that forms a mounded 2-by-2-foot tuffet of slightly puckered evergreen foliage.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2022

Where the sores were, there is now pink puckered flesh; his limbs are untouched.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

"We had particular difficulties with hard sounds like 'B' and with sounds involving lip puckering, such as 'W'. But these abilities will likely improve with time and practice," Lipson said.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 16, 2026

In fact, she’s so dedicated to that social critique that she can’t accept any contradictory evidence, even when gorgeous male celebrity lips are puckering up right in front of her.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 28, 2023

Beyond the gross-out close-ups of puckering organs, what is most striking here is a rare cinematic quality nowadays: perversity.

From New York Times ● Dec. 19, 2022

I can remember my reticence like it was yesterday, both wanting a cookie but not wanting the possible puckering acidity that might be lying in wait.

From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2022

The burger lasts longest, especially if it’s heaped with gut- puckering jalapenos, but by midnight my stomach is growling again.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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